Lexington, Massachusetts-based private investment firm The Watermill Group and Dallas, Texas-based private equity investment vehicle Hicks Equity Partners (HEP) announced on Wednesday the merger between remelted metals manufacturer and distributor Latrobe Specialty Metals, Inc. and specialty metal manufacturer Carpenter Technology Corporation. The transaction consisted of 8.1 million shares of Carpenter stock--representing an equity value of approximately $558 million at the time of announcement--has been issued to the current owners of Latrobe, including The Watermill Group and HEP.
Latrobe Specialty Metals was purchased for $215 million by Timken in December 2006, where it has grown to become a respected industry leader with close to $600 million in sales and more than 900 employees. To revitalize and grow Latrobe, Watermill and HEP charted a course to migrate the company's product offerings into higher-quality, higher-value applications--specifically complex, specialized carbon- and nickel-based materials for the aerospace, defense, energy and oil services industries.